But the Jews were promised and re-promised their land by God throughout the Law: Genesis 15:7, Leviticus 20:24, Numbers 33:52-53, Deuteronomy 1:8 are just a few examples. Pastor MacArthur would do well to learn from his Jewish counterparts. destroyed) and every perplexing dispensational chart is legit. He's converted. And while its not true God pairs animals with people every where in Scripture, He does in this statement. View our current career opportunities. First of all, I believe Mark was attempting to warn his Gentile readers of the great danger of demonic influence and activity. Demonic forces seem to be territorial; i.e., they have assigned areas of domain. And opposite to normal flowers, our lovely Scripture-flower will never dry out or wither away (Isaiah 40:8). why do you think there were pigs there?]. For the sake of the argument, lets start by assuming that the pastors assumption is right and he is a Gentile (though we know he could have been Jewish). Worse yet, dont trust one who says Scripture evolves. We said the last time that we were together that in Luke 8 you begin four miracle stories, all of which either happen in Galilee or in Gentile lands. It's in Luke chapter 8, verse 18. They even allowed themselves to go ballistic on the Sabbath, which shows how angry they really were. Its not clear exactly who is doing more killings, the LORD or Melchizedek, but the picture overall fits the image of Son of God cleaning the land of swine. In his description of the boundaries of Perea, Josephus mentions Gerasa as one of the cities on the eastern boundary between Perea and Arabia, the other border cities being Philadelphia and Sebonitus (Jos. As I hear, I judge and My judgment is righteous because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. Well that's the first thing we see in this passage. He was Jewish and tragically lost. So why were these pig owners on the east side of the lake afraid? And at the end of the passage, look how he is described. Were in the same story. 7 ) The pigs werent for eating. Notice how Gods care is cleverly contrasted with mans callousness: men buy birds for next to nothing because they do not value them, yet The Almighty as large and in charge as He is still takes careful notice of frail creatures. But this I do know, when people say that because those pigs died it shows that Jesus was not a good and virtuous man theyre forgetting three things. Origen says this is a good example of how Biblical writers simply were not concerned to precisely identify certain sites. You can bet your bottom drachma there is. He was possessed of extraordinary strength but he was aware that there was a man of God in his presence. Luke is telling you here that Jesus is sovereign over everything. And why werent they demanding compensation for their pigs? That sure does smell good! (Take that, Darwin.). And His promise to make a new promise (covenant) with Israel and with Judah in Jeremiah 31:31-32 does not repeal the first promise (the covenant that Israel broke), it strengthens it. They ask Him if they can enter some nearby pigs, and He lets them. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged Him to let them enter these. These four miracle stories, also we said, in contrast to the miracles in Luke 4 and 5, are focused on settings where a small group of the disciples witness the miracles. Asked by: Isidro Boehm V. Score: 4.9/5 to biblical Galilee, regarded, in opposition to Judaea, as a country of Gentiles (as in Matthew 4:15) What was Jairus occupation? I would, however, be a little skeptical of stories about Jesus Himself visiting Spain. But look at how many times God let it be known in the Law and in very certain terms eating pork was offensive. WebWho do you care more about, people or pigs? He always followed Gods Law. Last Update: Jan 03, 2023 Dont demons like sheep? Years earlier, when the ancient Israelis came to the border of the Promised Land, part of the eastern shore was controlled by the Geshurites (and the Maakathites) but Joshua told Israel to possess their land (Joshua 13:11-13). As regards the first question, it would appear that that section of the country was chiefly inhabited by pagans in the first century, and Gerasa is at any rate included by Schrer among the Hellenistic cities ("Geschichte," ii. Obviously the man with the demon was Jewish or Jesus would not have gone there. Was it correct to destroy so many for just one (or two men). 5 So they came to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes. Not by will, but because they have no choice other than to do as the Administrator of all creation commands them. And that permanence of the Law matches well with the fact that the first time, and the second, He wrote the Ten Commandments in stone: Exodus 31:18 and again, Exodus 34:1. Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, [Let me just pause right there. Also, any every person who wants to please God is forbidden the heartless act of boiling a calf in its mothers milk (Exodus 23:19; Exodus 34:26; Deuteronomy 14:21), as well as the abominable practice of cutting and eating the leg of a live animal, only to leave the poor creature hobbling around with its three remaining legs (Deuteronomy 12:23; explanation). Basically, a vision told Peter three times to eat defiling animal meat (at least that was how it seemed to him) so Peter logically replied that he had never eaten anything , Once more, we have half of an unclear verse, that people use to make up a, Gods Word has to agree with Gods Word. We do not find demons under every pew and under every rock. The shortest distance between two thoughts. What are you doing here, man of God? And then he attempted to intimidate him. Did you know that one of the 7 ingredients in underwater concrete was animal blood? So He got into the boat and returned. Jesus was upholding all the kosher laws within the Land of Israel it was part of his job description. They were ..ummm ..for producing manure to fertilize crops. (Quite likely David would have let the lion and the bear free, if not for the fact that they came back at him: 2 Samuel 17:35). In Luke 4 and 5, great multitudes are following Jesus Christ when He does His miracles. Is there actually a real reason why the Gospel accounts shouldnt be taken as factual history? However, the pastors assumptions are perplexing. This now then is our fifth fact in a nutshell. There was a logic in this. Lets dwell on that he added no new commands to his disciples. No one cares where he sleeps when hes busy trying to keep himself from killing himself. The book ends on that very point. The list in the first chapter of Leviticus contains only bovine, sheep, goats and pigeons; all typified later, in Leviticus 11, as clean/pure animals. Is there a connection? were His soul, what care we for his soul? Such alternative readings include arguments that the swine were meant to represent the Roman army or "unclean and unfaithful" people; that pigs were considered "unclean", so destroying them might be consistent with care for other animals; and that Jesus did not actually "send" the devils into the pigs. Luke means it to be an extraordinary event. It's almost like the demons are inexorably drawn to Jesus. And so this man comes to Jesus, he seeks Him out, and Jesus says to him, What is your name? And the man doesn't know his name. They had rather have their swine than their Saviour, and so, though they saw the demoniac sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, at the feet of Jesus, they in turn beseech that He should take Himself away. Because some confusion exists in the gospel MS evidence and perhaps in other source material, absolute certainty cannot be attained; but the following identification seems correct. And her addition to Gods commandment led to her disobedience and to Adams, and then God added some amazing plagues to mankind, just as John says (Revelation 22:18) will happen to those who add to His Word (and not just the book of Revelation). Thats really why they were sent. That is why The vision had nothing to do with shrimp rings or BLTS. Gods Law has a law that you cannot change Gods Law. However, the silversmith was a smart cookie and knew that the more people bought into Pauls line of thinking, Note: Demetrius was angry only because of, Therefore, were those cool-headed pig-farmers really Gentiles? being the holy Messiah of Israel, Jesus wants the swine out of The Land as much as he wants unclean spirits out of The People, and. He has authored, co-authored, edited, or contributed to numerous books. This story is a technicolor picture of Luke 8:18, and my friends, there don't have to be demons around for us to be facing the same challenge. But are these good pastors on the right track? During the time of Christ, the ten cities of Decapolis and the surrounding region were inhabited mostly by Gentiles, not Jews, and the area had a strong Greek influence. To top it off, Jesuss farmers see Jesus and see their property floating belly up in the surf, but they dont throw him after them! Can we imagine our Jew receiving a mostly positive reaction or a negative one? There he meets a man seized with an unclean spirit (Mark) or with demons (Luke). Two thousand pigs together is quiet unimaginable. Now you understand what sitting at the Savior's feet means? Neither common sense, nor the text, let Jesus off the hook. But now this is an extraordinary case. The last point to tidy up Jesus allowed the demons to kill the pigs or Jesus did it? Well, this happens in the gospel with Jesus. Gergesenes means "those who come from pilgrimage or fight." The list in the first chapter of Leviticus contains only bovine, sheep, goats and pigeons; all typified later, in Leviticus 11, as clean/pure animals. R.C. Luke doesn't think that it's an every day occurrence for a person to be possessed by a host of demons. Scripture exhorts us to care for animals and not to be cruel to them. When Jesus said that he had not came to destroy the Law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17), he was not talking to the Jews who already knew the Law was permanent, he was looking into future centuries and talking to those Christians who would try to destroy it. The nearby shepherds were sheep shepherds, not hog herders. (eds.). One day the prophet Samuel angrily told his king that God would not go back on His decision. In delivering the man from his bondage, Jesus restored creations promise. All these inescapable facts are so important to getting the right interpretation of Mark 5 and the other gospel records of the same event. Dr. Ligon Duncan | December 13, 2009. And lastly, because the herd was within the Land of Israel and owned by Jews (the joke about Gentiles owning them is cleared up below), the unclean swine had to go and the unclean demons did the work. Still, Jesus was not in Gadarenes for judging; he was there for mercy and for judgement. What care we for his soul?What good to us that Thou hast made him whole,Since we have lost our swine? The heart set free from sin by Jesus. Answer: the impurity of the swine. II. Why did these people respond to Jesus this way? And there's a lesson in each of these things for all of us. WebThe Gerasenes were the people of the district of which Gerasa was the capital. When Jesus healed the possessed man, He allowed Legion to possess the nearby herd of swine. Why are there two demon-possessed men in the Gerasene tombs in Youll notice at the beginning of the passage that they go across the lake to the east side and that puts them outside the bounds of Galilee and outside the bounds of Israel and over into Gentile territory on the other side. The textual evidence shows that the MSS preserve three variant spellings of the name in each gospel. His sermon should have given us some point, some excuse, or some logical explanation for it all. the obscure phrase, (declaring all food clean), is magically transformed by the New International Version into, In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean, or into even lovelier prose like, By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in Gods eyes, by the New Living Translation (talk about making silk purse out of a sows ear). --ED.). And wild animals are not forget because farmers in the Land of Israel are commanded in Exodus 23:11 to leave parts of their fields for food for wildlife. The good pastor actually believes that a Jewish man can rationally decide the best sleeping quarters , In the end, the good pastors assumptions keep us, Just remember the wonderful folks in Jesuss hometown? Therefore we know that when Jesus helped the Syrophoenician woman (not a Jewess, but she came to him), he and the woman were both in Israeli territory. Here is a prophesy that Christians love to quote: You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110.4) because it connects to Messiah Jesus. Search the web and you will find many opinions about why the pigs died. It pains them to admit that Jesus was/is a Jewish Messiah and not a Christian one. And what about commands for married people (Exodus 21:10), or the command that a man gives his wife a bill of divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1)? Besides Johns cute play on words dont add or God will add consider what plagues he might be talking about and what book he might be talking about. Actually, killing the pigs was also out of his mercy because instead of judging the farmers directly, the Messiah threw his anger against the pigs. Also, Demetrius only needed to speak a few choice words against the Jew (compare with Act 19:34), to get the crowd all worked up the silversmith didnt have any real evidence that Pauls preaching was going to slow sales. On the other hand, it is unfortunate that the rabbis today dont see the even stronger connection between Genesis 3:3 and Revelation 22:18, because Jews dont read the New Testament all that much. Doesn't Jesus Treat Animals as Property? In York, T.; Alexis-Baker, A.; Bekoff, M.; McLaren, B. From the start, the evil spirits wanted to bring death and destruction, and they finally got their chance. The miracle referred to took place, without doubt, near the town of Gergesa, the modern Kersa , close by the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and hence in the country of Gergesenes. He dispatched Lucius Annius with a force of cavalry and an army of foot soldiers, who took the city on the first attack, slaughtering a thousand young men, taking their families captive, plundering and burning the city and the surrounding towns (Jos. Just as God defeated Pharaohs army at the Red Sea, so Jesus defeats Satans army in the land of the Gerasenes. For one, Leviticus 22:28 forbids righteous farmers from killing a cow and its calf on the same day. WebWhy were there pigs in gerasenes? The main reason God limits righteous people to a select group of clean/pure animals is for the purpose of holiness. led to the substitute reading Gergesenes, a reading that was suggested by a study of the geography of the area. Acting as Israels Messiah, Jesus was carrying out actions that were predicted by the prophets, like when Zechariah said that no merchants in the house of the LORD (Zechariah 14:21).. Something else to ponder about the Son of God is his other title, The Good Shepherd: David, the son of Jesse, was another selfless, compassionate shepherd. This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. But just a theory. They were wise enough to figure out if Jesus in His authority over them would allow them to exit of their choosing, they would select the black pigs often used in sacrifice to Baal. Fear and selfishness prompted the prayer. The apostle had been busy preaching in Demetriuss hometown of Ephesus and Pauls message about the one true God was catching on. Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with: Gerasene. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Gerasene. He showed mercy to the men who were possessed and brought judgement on the pig farmers. (Only an amateur Hebraist would claim the latter, frankly.). This page from an Orthodox website partially shows how Judaism views their responsibility. The Syrians made reprisals, and took many prisoners. Jesus is equating his commandments which can only be the ones in the Law of Moses, because he gave no commandments in the Gospels with his Fathers commandments in the Five Books of Moses. Here, then, Jesus faced two of Gods enemies: hostile spiritual powers and death itself. And so they begin crying out, Don't cast us into the abyss.. For being kind to birds!? These ruins date from the 2nd to the 7th centuries and show that the city flourished during this period as a center for religion, culture, and commerce. With such a track record, what difference would Legions size or strength make? WebHe calls the inhabitants Syrians, when, at the beginning of the Jewish revolt, the district round Gerasa was laid waste. iii. And Luke intends this to be a display of an extraordinary case. conquest of Syria in 65 b.c. The Greek clause literally says, End of law is Christ but why bother finishing the sentence? So lets have an exquisite examination of Scripture to better appreciate what happened beside the lake and why the pigs ended up in it. The Son of God mercifully cast thousands of defiling demons out of a lost Jew and purposefully launched the legion killers into two thousand defiling swine. But we should never get too smug, thinking that we have corned the market on truth. He's the friend of sinners. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in a cemetery outside the town. And was the Master doing the right thing sacrificing someone elses pigs. All Rights Reserved. And what can we take away from the second part of the commandment not to take away from Gods Word? Mark 5 is truly very simple: being a righteous Jew, the Law commands Jesus to abhor pigs as food. But Christianity early became important in the city; several churches were built during these centuries, so that by the 5th cent., Gerasa could send a bishop to the Council of Chalcedon. Any other conclusion, in light of the seven facts just presented, is breathtakingly irresponsible, and we should just laugh it off. How and why did this happen in the first place? And holiness means salvation, as Paul wrote in two different letter, without holiness no man [or woman] shall see God (Hebrews 12:14 and Romans 6:22). Every creature on land, or in the water, or in the air is classified by either the Hebrew term, (tahor), meaning ritually clean/pure, or by the term, (tameh), unclean/defiling. The good pastor basically believes that in Jesuss mind, one mans peace, preservation and freedom from unclean spirits is worth the sacrifice of a couple thousand pigs. So why did the meek n merciful Son of Man cast countless defiling demons into two thousand piglets, sows and boars? There he meets a man seized with an unclean spirit (Mark) or with demons (Luke). Israel was to be a nation of priests, prophets, and missionaries to the world (Exodus 19:46). Paul talked about going to Spain in Rom 15:24-28, so part of this is certainly within the realm of possibilities. The district of the Gerasenes probably included that of the Gadarenes; so that the demoniac of Gergesa belonged to the country of the Gadarenes and also to that of the Gerasenes, as the same person may, with equal truth, be said to live in the city or the state, or in the United States. Such a contradiction in character! In a pigs eye. After all, racism wasnt invented in the 21st century. So He gave them permission. Gentile To save this word, you'll need to log in. This curse should deter makers of dispensational charts from chopping up Scripture because having my share taken from the Book of Life, or my name wiped out of the Book of Life (Revelation 3:5) doesnt sound very cool. He is the freest man in the world. But today, if you said to anybody, Tiger Woods is a slave to his desires, they would recognize it. Them there pigs were trying to hog Jesus limelight! It's a glorious picture of Jesus love for lost souls, even a Gentile. This has been a long blog thanks for sticking with it but because Im going to ruffle feathers, Ive gone the extra mile to explain myself clearly and to plug any holes in my argument. Lets re-examine the event in the light of seven important Scriptural facts. Indeed, some believe that Jesuss single option was to let Legion loose on the animals. Another title that didn't make it was Demons, Pigs, and a Request to Leave. Now I think actually that beautifully outlines what happens in this passage, but for a specific reason I've wanted to zero your attention in on this man, this nameless man, who is afflicted by demons and who is liberated by Jesus Christ because there is a Gospel message for all of us. They belonged to God. (Jos. I dont know of any illness that can do that. I've ended up, and Ill explain it later, giving the title The Man Jesus Renamed. Now that may peak your interest because in the passage no name is ever given for the man, either before or after his conversion, so you may be wondering why I've named it that. Now we see the missing puzzle piece: God had plainly prohibited pork as food, making it clear that holy people should not eat it all of you be holy for I am holy (Leviticus 11:44-45) and therefore, Gods normally merciful Messiah destroyed an entire herd in total agreement with the commandment. It was part of the Greco-Roman region known as the Decapolis, or ten towns. or ten A wonderful verse that reveals Him to us and probably the most heartwarming is the commandment in the Torah that mother animals are allowed to stay with their newborns for at least seven days before the offspring can be taken for food or for sacrifice (Exodus 22:30; Leviticus 22:27). That's what disciples do, they sit at their master's feet. But if one cared to examine all of Gods Word, the only possible reason for Jesus to destroy the pigs in the exorcism seems to be connected to Gods opinion about ham. Jesus was wise to use what God gives us, for a teachable moment. Cant we be candid in our search to know God? Before the war it was a Gentile settlement. When people start putting a value on animal life equal to or higher than the value they put on human life, something is seriously wrong with the culture. He stabbed in the day of his wrath the kings. So he's drawing our attention to an extraordinary event, but the reason he's drawing our attention to that extraordinary event is because there are actually truths which transfer across the last 2,000 years, right to where we are today, that we are to learn out of this passage. Pigs, of course, were unclean for the Jews (Lev. That was a very large farming operation, even by the modern European and North American standards of today which typically do not have such giant herds. But pay attention to the body count. And he was the one who said that the Father doesnt miss the , Everyone's wondering why the pigs got the raw end of the deal. And Tolkien puts it this way The Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dr he was, and his name is remembered in no tale for he himself had forgotten it and said only, I am the mouth of Sauron.. The lectionary reading for Trinity 1, Year C, is Luke's version of Jesus meeting and healing the demon-possessed man in the 'region of the Gerasenes' (Luke 8.2639). Something else to ponder about the Son of God is his other title, I am the good shepherd. So why pigs? How could they say Christians not need be concerned about the welfare of animals or that they have little value, or even laugh about the death of thousands, when such beliefs are set side-by-side with Gods Word? It is now called Jerash and is a deserted ruin. WebGadarenes. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.". Thy powers bring loss to us and ours. Gerasa was rebuilt in splendor and remained prosperous for several centuries. in which he transferred the demons afflicting a man to a number of swine, that thereupon Knowing the correct genre of what you are studying is a major step toward getting a correct message or interpretation. He's been set free by Jesus. He seen himself demon possessed people that had extrodinary powers. But isnt it a funny coincidence that pork happens to be on Gods list of forbidden food. Its kinda like the difference between a Disney movie, a TV documentary and/or an infomercial; normally each is dissimilar from the other. It's interesting isn't it Jesus crosses the river, the lake, and no sooner has He set His foot on the other side but this man shows up to meet Him. The normally merciful Messiah destroyed the pigs in accordance with Gods Law about clean and unclean meat. After this long, careful study, it should be crystal clear that the heartless Bishop of Hippo was mistaken, as were our two good pastors. Their line of reasoning supposes that Jesus wanted to save the man (men) but too many unclean spirits meant Jesus had to negotiate to get them to move out. All in all, after Jesus had trashed the livelihood of so many, we have to agree that they were more than gentle to let him off the hook and just asking him to leave town asap. [Israels] real enemy isnt Rome, which barely figures into the gospel story. Once more, we have half of an unclear verse, that people use to make up a grand doctrine, all with the hopes it will magically annihilate one hundred clear, unambiguous verses which say the Law is permanent. He is a billionaire, he is about to break Jack Nicklaus record, he's married to a model, he has two beautiful children, he has everything that anybody in the world could possibly want to have. So he had to live according to the truth that had already revealed and to get everyone else in line with the program. Does he really believe Mark 5 is Biblical material, To be honest, all the bad humour honestly makes me believe the pastor is being. The other part of the eastern shoreline was controlled by Og, king of Bashan, but it and sixty walled cities were taken from them by Moses and given to the tribes of Israel (Deuteronomy 3:1-7, 16; compare with 1 Kings 4:13). Wed also have to confess that the farmers were not Gentile. The site is identified today with the town of Kersa, or Gersa, just below Wadi es-Samak. Not that I believe my case has holes. (. War III. The Garasenes were not Jewish but the country was close to Galilee and Jesus had been to that side of the sea before. Thats right, Whatever matter I am commanding you right now, it's what you must be careful to observe to do. Instead, his conscious act of casting the demons into the swine resulted in the entire herds destruction. This is clearly an extraordinary event. So many beautiful verses and motivating passages are in Scripture. In some of your Bibles, it may say Gergesenes or Gadarenes in the parallel passages in the gospels. Because they cared more about what they had lost than what that man had gained or what they could gain in Jesus themselves. Why does the herd of swine go over the cliff? I cannot offer you a proof-text for this observation. He also wrote the poem Greatheart. WebAll three Synoptic Gospels ( Mark 5:120; Luke 8:2639; Matthew 8:2834) mention the swine miracle, although with variations. They know that Jesus can cast them into the abyss, into the lake of fire, into the bowels of hell, and theyre frightened. That is the exact opposite of other godly men (compare with, Lastly, even if Mr. Pipers explanation were true, look what its, The hard-hearted views of the Bishop of Hippo are not biblical because righteous people are obliged by God to be considerate to all animals, even, Are not two sparrows sold for the smallest coin, and yet one of them cannot fall to the earth apart from your Father?